Install Process:
The install is not difficult, but it is lengthy. Gryphon Aircraft Services charged us 7.5 hours of labor total.
We chose to mount the coilpacks on the bracket that used to hold the Slickstart module (no need for that anymore). The ignition "brain" and MAP sensor housing ended up behind the right side of the instrument panel. Two new breakers were added to the panel to support the ignition system. Our existing Tempest Fine Wire plugs were regapped for the ElectroAir locations.
Flying the plane with Electronic Ignition:
Starts are instant now, not that they were slow before. Even when the engine is at a less than ideal mixture or quite cold, it fires right up.
Once you get the engine running it is clear something has changed as it is very smooth at idle. Even if you pull the throttle back to the stop and end up at 600ish rpm it still happily idles smoothly.
Run-up is a little different as running on the ElectroAir alone during a mag check produces almost no drop in RPM, obviously the remaining magneto still produces a noticeable drop in RPM. When you complete the run-up and switch back to "Both" the ElectroAir restarts the computer that drives it and it shuts down for 1/10 of a second during this time... weird if you aren't expecting it.
Takeoff and climb performance seem similar to me at airports near sea level. Once you get above 5-7k feet or retard the throttle below 24" of manifold pressure the system begins advancing the ignition timing. It advances the timing roughly 2 degrees per inch lost of manifold pressure after 24 inches.
If you don't fly below 24" of manifold pressure frequently you probably won't see a huge benefit. The ignition system does not care if you reduce the manifold pressure by climbing or by retarding the throttle.
Once you get the ignition timing advanced, the differences in performance become clearer. The airplane is faster on the same fuel burn that you used to fly, or you can fly your previous mag-equipped speed on less fuel by easing the throttle back (but who does that?).
At 8k feet the difference in speed for us was about 4 knots - at higher altitudes the difference is much greater. For the first time since owning the plane our cruise speeds LOP topped 140 KTAS regularly.
Speaking of LOP...
We fly LOP during every flight with a significant cruise portion. Installing the ElectroAir system allows to run leaner (a lot leaner) and still remain smooth. Additionally, the speed penalty for running LOP vs ROP diminished significantly. A typical example was 144 KTAS on 10.4gph or 140 on 8.2gph with no detectable change in the "feel" of the engine.
CHTs - Producing more power produces more heat, and our CHTs were higher after ElectroAir than before. Especially at altitude this is apparent! I have seen 380+ CHTs ROP while at 16k feet, swapping to LOP dropped them into the mid 300s. High CHTs have not been a problem, just be aware if you have marginal cooling now...
Maintenance - There really isn't any. You have replace the plugs (just like a mag ignition) and one day the ignition wires will begin to fail (just like a mag ignition). I expect it to be cheaper than a magneto over the course of it's life.
Should I buy this for my plane?
Do you fly high enough, or pull the throttle back to spend time with less than 24" of manifold pressure?
Do you fly ROP or LOP? My experience is that there is a greater gain LOP.
My guess is that Flight Schools would really benefit from this (lots of low MP flying).
How much did it cost?
Total installed was $3918 and change.
Anecdote:
Years before we installed ElectroAir my wife and I trained for our instrument rating. We made a chart of power settings for our DA40. Very simple stuff - such and such RPM and Manifold pressure in this configuration = this performance. After ElectroAir we had to make a new chart, as the same power settings now had us going 10-14 knots faster. This is because our approach power settings were at low MP settings, so we had lots of ignition advance (and efficiency)
